Alex Rowley

Alex Rowley
Rowley in 2020
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
Acting
29 August 2017 – 15 November 2017
UK party leaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byKezia Dugdale
Succeeded byJackie Baillie (acting)
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office
15 August 2015 – 16 December 2017
LeaderKezia Dugdale
Preceded byKezia Dugdale
Succeeded byLesley Laird
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Mid Scotland and Fife
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Assumed office
6 May 2016
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Cowdenbeath
In office
23 January 2014 – 23 March 2016
Preceded byHelen Eadie
Succeeded byAnnabelle Ewing
Scottish Labour portfolios
2016–2017Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Community, Social Security and Equalities
2018–2019Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government
2019–2020Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Brexit and the Constitution
2021–presentShadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity
Personal details
Born
Alexander Andrew Penman Rowley

(1963-11-30) 30 November 1963 (age 60)
Dunfermline, Scotland, UK
Political partyScottish Labour
Children3, including Danielle
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
WebsiteOfficial website

Alexander Andrew Penman Rowley (born 30 November 1963) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017 and acting leader of the party from August to November 2017. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 2014, firstly for the Cowdenbeath constituency and the Mid Scotland and Fife region since 2016. He has been described as being on the political left of the party.

Born in Dunfermline, Rowley studied community education at the University of Edinburgh before serving as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party and on Fife Council. First elected to the Scottish Parliament at a by-election in January 2014, he lost Cowdenbeath to Annabelle Ewing of the SNP at the 2016 election. However, he was returned as an additional member for Mid Scotland and Fife.

Following the resignation of Kezia Dugdale, he served as acting Leader of the Scottish Labour Party during the 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election. He served as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government from 2018 to 2019 and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Brexit and Constitutional Relations from 2019 to 2020. He is currently Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity.